Still Reading Salem's Lot

I originally didn't think that this book would turn out to be that interesting. Well, I was wrong and this book is actually turning into a page turner and the plot has gotten really weird. Even for Stephen King, weird.

So the main weird part is that the problems that have been going on in Salem's lot is the guy, Straker, isn't a satanist (Which is good). He just worships this vampire dude (Which is not). His name is Barlow, and he got Ben's girlfriend and most of the town and they try to stop him, which is going to be the climax of the story, from getting the rest of the town and moving on from there.

One main issue that Stephen King has been focusing on is Fear. He constantly goes back to the idea that when we're kids we all are terribly afraid of that closet or the lamp that looks like a person when the lights go out and you can't tell your parents about it because only other kids understand. Then he tells his own definition of adulthood. "The essential and defining characteristic of childhood is not the effortless merging of dream and reality, but only alienation. There are no words for childhood's dark turns and exhalations. A wise child recognizes it and submits to the necessary consequences. A child who counts the cost is a child no longer." I think that this is true, and we all remember our own personal boogeyman when we were little and now we rationalize and think, "Oh there's a creaking. Well, I locked the doors, and the windows are shut, so it must be just regular house creaking".

Another factor of Fear that Stephen King considers is the effect it has on some people. Some of us are good under pressure and perform better than normal. Others are very skilled at something until someone is watching and analyzing them. I think that you are kind of stuck with which you are but you can change it based on the environment you grow up in. For example, if you grow up doing a lot of sports or live in a high stress environment, you'll probably be better under pressure or with fear. If you live in a sheltered environment where you have time to do everything really thoroughly, but have few deadlines, you might be less productive under stress. In our society, there are jobs that match each of these personalities. A surgeon literally has someone's life in their hands, so they can't have nervous shaking in their hand, while an engineer that designs bridges is in a less personal environment and has less stress to deal with. We need engineers and we need surgeons. I think every job is split up like that, with more jobs that have low stress compared to jobs with high stress.

I found this article about fear, and it seems pretty interesting. View it Here